I’ve been going over Dinard in my head, trying to sort out my emotions and what to write about, but I think the final verdict is just an array of mixed emotions. Not about the tournament itself; because it was wonderfully organized, the people were as friendly as can be and the course was in great condition; but about my performance as a whole and the end result.

One of the biggest things I learned about the week was that links courses aren’t at the top of my ‘courses I love to play’ list. It was my first time playing a real links course, and while it was gorgeous and an experience I am glad I have in my pocket, I was VERY happy to get back home to a place where I know the ball will do what I want it to do… There’s something about unknown and uncontrollable bounces that doesn’t fit my fancy. That being said, the sheer history of the golf course made it worth being there. It is the second oldest golf course in France and they have done a magnificent job of maintaining its original charm.

As far as my performance is concerned, I finished the week in a tie for 22nd, but the experience was filled with a lot of ups and downs (and I’m unfortunately not talking about the chip and one-putt kind of up and downs). I started the tournament out playing really solid golf and putting a few small errors aside I was very happy. I carded a 71 (+1) the first day and considering the windy conditions I was pleased. The second day started off fairly solidly but the back nine was a different story all together. Since most of the back nine is right along the ocean, the wind was really howling, causing the ball to move on the greens and, in all honesty, I just handled it poorly. I was so concerned about getting penalized for the ball moving, that I never put my putter down and focused on trying to stabilize my putter in the air instead of putting a confident stroke on the ball. I 4-putted (technically 5-putted, because I used my putter from behind the green) the 13th hole and things took a quick turn downhill from there. I bogeyed three of my last five holes to finish with a 78 (+8) causing me to tumble down the leaderboard from 4th to 22nd place in a span of 6 holes. I was lucky enough (and thrilled) to be one of the girls to make the cut, which ended up being at +10. The third day, I ended up shooting 72(+2) but here’s how it happened: I had five 3-putts and 2 eagles…(go figure). It was just the epitome of a rollercoaster week, but all in all, it was a very valuable learning experience and one I look forward to improving upon.